IMF plan needs to be suspended for a year, webinar told.

Byline: Shazia Hasan

KARACHI -- The English Speaking Union of Pakistan organised a panel discussion about the recently proposed Federal Budget 2020-21 and its impact which was streamed live on Zoom the other day.

Senior chartered accountant Syed Asad Ali Shah said that unfortunately this budget was happening at a very unique time when the world was witnessing the Covid-19 pandemic. 'We had never imagined that we would see this in our lifetime. It has totally caused the collapse of the economy,' he said.

However, he expressed the hope that as history had shown, there would always be an opportunity in adversity.

'The economy was already turbulent. It was going down the drain. Pre-corona, we were already in a slowdown situation. We were progressing to achieving our stabilisation though our GDP was not growing. But after corona, our economy has come to a total standstill,' he said.

He also said that he thought that the country's economic growth will be negative by about three per cent now. There would be a huge shortfall in tax collection also, and that it would all lead to an extremely difficult situation.

Starting of projects with short turnarounds stressed

More problems as cited by Mr Shah included tumbling of exports, businesses going bankrupt, huge unemployment, huge health crisis and people dying.

'The objectives of the budget in this situation should be to save lives and livelihoods. We have to invest in health, in reviving businesses because it is through helping businesses that the government can save jobs,' he said.

'Now is not the time to worry about deficits. But the budget looks like the balancing of the books. The International Monetary Fund [IMF] programme needs to be suspended for at least one year. They would understand. Right now we need projects with short turnarounds,' he said.

Govt's good steps

Abdul Qadir Memon, who is currently the director of State Life Insurance, said that ahead of the budget it was being thought that there would be no budget this year or maybe there would be a six-month budget. 'But with the IMF continuing to be a watchdog, the government of Pakistan has little room to play with,' he said, adding that the government had, no doubt, also taken some good steps for growth of economy.

'The government has introduced a lucrative construction package. It will give a boost to the construction industry. There is an improved tax compliance with the banking sector required to provide information on profits and...